Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Swimming With Squidoo

Web 2.0 - Swimming with Squidoo(Pronounced: Skwi -doo)

What is Web 2.0?

At first glance, Squidoo seeems like one of those silly web 2.0 things. It was created by Seth Godin author if Permission Marketing, and The Purple Cow. When I first took a serious look at it, I couldn't quite figure out what to do with it. My "quick way cool way to generate traffic" took an entire weekend, to build instead of just a couple of hours. Once my first Squidoo page was completed (www.squidoo.com/ezmoney), I quickly started several other lenses. If your first lense takes a little time to perfect that's normal. Once you get one done...you'll make more! What exactly does Squidoo do? Why should I have a Squidoo lens? How is it different from a web page?

For network marketers, Squidoo can be an extremely powerful online prospecting tool.Unlike creating content sites from scratch, Squidoo is duplicatable for anyone that can string some sentences together. It can get indexed in Google amazingly fast - like in 48 hours- allowing the average network marketing a shot at the coveted 1st page in Google. A content site may take several weeks to be found by Google.

In a nutshell, Squidoo is free space on the internet to use as you wish. Anyone can make a lens (a page on Squidoo) and have exposure on the internet. Since it's free, and doesn't require any knowledge of HTML, or other techie stuff, you can create lenses (Squidoo speak for "webpage") relatively easily.

At this time (January 2008) you cannot put opt-in forms on your Squidoo pages BUT you can link your Squidoo site to any opt-in page you have.

Quick Squidoo Tips:

1) Make your Squidoo page tightly focused. Like "Everything About Red Shoes". Then your lens would include: Books and movies about Red Shoes, famous people who love red shoes, Red Shoes in art, and red shoe forums. The more tightly focused your Squidoo page is, the better. If you also love Blue Suede Shoes, Create on lens on Blue Suede shoes. Squidoo will link your lenses for you.

2)Link your Squidoo to other sites, articles or blogs you have created. It will helpto increase your page rank on your other sites.

3) Squidoo postions you as an expert.

4) Squidoo pages can be fun and funky. Let your creativity come out.

5) Create a space for feedback, polls and so on. Squidoo has easy one-clickwidgets that you can add for this.

7)Definitely sign up for the Squidoo newsletter. Excellent information and tips.

8)If Squidoo thinks your page is cool, Squidoo will promote it to other lensmasters.

9)Make your squidoo title a "key word" like: "easy home business" not Jane's page. Keywords are the currency of search engines.

The Squid forum is a friendly and helpful place to meet future business partners too.

About the Author:-----------------------------------------------------------------Karen Miner Hurd has been in network marketing since before cellphones. She lives in Virginia Beach, VA, with her husband, 5 children,and a lazy fat cat.To find the best home based business ideas and opportunities so you can work at home visit: The Freedom Project--------------------------------------------------------